Ahmad Black Thread

[BucNY]

4.74

Dude, you're lost.....

The ability to recognize a play quicker much more than makes up for a 1/10 in the 40.

Go play for the Raiders.

[AlstottUpTheGut]

4.74

Dude, you're lost.....

The ability to recognize a play quicker much more than makes up for a 1/10 in the 40.

Go play for the Raiders.

Yessirr

[GrimmReaper]

He is 180lbs safety and yet ten defensive linemen and 15 linebackers had faster 40 times than him....that doesn't bother you at all?

When I watch this combine video, his technique is awful in the 40 yard dash. His arms are swinging too much side to side. His balance is off from the start, so much that he almost went outside of the boundary line to the right. He did not look comfortable in tights and track shoes, nor did he look comfortable with his hand on the ground at the start. He is no track star, to be sure. Combine video page 6: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine#page:6    Black is right on the top of the page.

Then contrast his form to Jimmy Smith, who is the 5th player down on page 6: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine#page:6
As you can see, Jimmy Smith's form is much better at the address, and he is in a ready position. Notice the way his arms slice directly through the air as he runs in a sprinters form, and is obviously a more balanced and efficient runner. He ran a 4.46 and was drafted in the 1st round as a CB, of course.

Other than the slow 40, his other combine numbers were good for a safety, and he looked very good in the other drills. He had fluid hips, and pretty good footwork. Most importantly, he shows good quickness in the drills. When the ball was in the air, he showed off his ability to meet the ball at it's highest point and catch the ball with his hands. His hands look to be better than Jimmy Smith, the 1st round CB, by comparison, which I thought was interesting.

My conclusion is that he is unable to get comfortable starting off with his hand on the ground for the 40 yard dash. Aside from that I saw everything I expected to see, which confirmed what I saw on film. He gets the okay from me. No guarantees, of course. He needs to prove it to everyone now.



 







http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine#page:6

[4bucs]

hes a great fit here.

[JDouble]

I'm a big fan and I think he is a perfect fit here in Tampa, but his size and speed did concern me. I said if we could get him in the 5th I'd love to have him....and we did...and I love it! I just hope he can pack on some muscle and stay around 195-200lbs. Otherwise I don't think he'll hold up as a 185lbs safety in the NFL.

[blind melon]

He'll be on WDAE at 4:05pm.

"...Later at 4:05 p.m., Justin will welcome former Florida Gators and newly drafted Bucs safety Ahmad Black to the airwaves..."

[GrimmReaper]

I'm a big fan and I think he is a perfect fit here in Tampa, but his size and speed did concern me. I said if we could get him in the 5th I'd love to have him....and we did...and I love it! I just hope he can pack on some muscle and stay around 195-200lbs. Otherwise I don't think he'll hold up as a 185lbs safety in the NFL.

That's a legitimate concern. The Bob Sanders theory. The Colts gambled and used a 2nd on Sanders. I'm glad the Draftmaster Dominik didn't reach on him, or any picks this year.

[chrisras]

He'll be on WDAE at 4:05pm.

"...Later at 4:05 p.m., Justin will welcome former Florida Gators and newly drafted Bucs safety Ahmad Black to the airwaves..."

I will be listening to this very closely.

[BuccaNova]

Well, be sure and let us know if he says "butt" or anything else that means he's a bad influence and a terrible football player.  Can't be havin' nobody sayin' "butt" all over the place in public...

[BucNY]

I say this all to often. The combine is a dog and pony show, it doesn't change anything about the players skill, speed, strength. It measures things that you cannot watch on tape but at the end of the day a fast 40 isn't going to change the production that the guy gives you on the field.

You watched tape and graded a player as a "B" he runs a 4.3 and he is still a "B" player that can run in a straight line in tights.

If we watch Black on tape he may have a slower 40 than LB and D-lineman but you don't see him getting caught by any of those people do we? We don't see him getting blown by in coverage. His size concerns me a bit but thats about all that concerns me and it isn't because i think he'll have trouble tackling, its because I wonder if he'll get beat up over the course of the season.

Last comment....Jerry F'ing Rice baby. Slow as hell measured in the 40, the best receiver to ever play the game, hands down.

[JDouble]

I'm a big fan and I think he is a perfect fit here in Tampa, but his size and speed did concern me. I said if we could get him in the 5th I'd love to have him....and we did...and I love it! I just hope he can pack on some muscle and stay around 195-200lbs. Otherwise I don't think he'll hold up as a 185lbs safety in the NFL.

That's a legitimate concern. The Bob Sanders theory. The Colts gambled and used a 2nd on Sanders. I'm glad the Draftmaster Dominik didn't reach on him, or any picks this year.

Bob Sanders may be 5'8" but he's 210lbs. He's a very thick little dude. I think his problem is genetically weak bones or something. He's definitely not a scrawny guy.

[BucD]

IMO I think Grimm, Black and Asante rotate at both Safety positions.  Just sayin'.

[4bucs]

IMO I think Grimm, Black and Asante rotate at both Safety positions.  Just sayin'.

and jackson...they can use black as nickle cb also.

[chrisras]

I listened to this interview and lets just say that Ahmad Black is not going to have his own radio show anytime soon. I can see why he wasn't drafted until the 5th round and he may have gone undrafted if we didn't draft him. We did not interview him prior to the draft and it shows. He was awful.

[Skull and Bones]

I'm a big fan and I think he is a perfect fit here in Tampa, but his size and speed did concern me. I said if we could get him in the 5th I'd love to have him....and we did...and I love it! I just hope he can pack on some muscle and stay around 195-200lbs. Otherwise I don't think he'll hold up as a 185lbs safety in the NFL.

That's a legitimate concern. The Bob Sanders theory. The Colts gambled and used a 2nd on Sanders. I'm glad the Draftmaster Dominik didn't reach on him, or any picks this year.

I don't think the Colts regret taking Sanders.  They won a Super Bowl and he played a big part in that run.